Okagbare wins Gold, shatters record

By Tony Ubani
Blessing Okagabare was in yet another blistering form yesterday when she not only won the 100 m race at the African Athletics Championship but also set a new championship record of 11 secs.

The amazon who blew away strong oppositions at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland to win the double, 100 m and 200 m, was dominant in Marrekech, Morocco as she powered to glory to erase the former record of 11.03 secs.

Dashing to the finish…(L-R) Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahoure, Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare and Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce during the women’s 200 metres final at the 2013 IAAF World Championships at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow yesterday.

‘’I am very happy to have won the title because I just wanted to win for my fans and do my country proud. Just coming straight from the Commonwealth Games, my body is tired, but my coach told me to just focus and execute the race, which was what I did’’, she said moments after the race.

Her closest rival was Ivorian Murielle Ahoure but Okagbare noted that the competition was stiffer in Glasgow but acknowledged the challenge of Ahoure and hoped that Nigeria could re-produce having three Nigerians on a bigger platform like they did in Morocco yesterday.

‘’ Of course the competition was stiffer at the Commonwealth Games, but that is not to take anything away from Murielle Ahoure. She is a great athlete. It was good that we had three Nigerians in the final but this is Africa. I am hoping that we can have this kind of representation on a bigger platform, like the World Championships and the Olympics’’..

Okagbare by her records has virtually won everything this summer. She won the IAAF Golden League in Lausanne, Switzerland and Monaco and went to the Commonwealth Games where she sent tongues wagging with her her doubles win in the 100 m and the 200 m. She erased the records.

10 confirmed cases of Ebola in Nigeria, 2 deaths

The Federal Government has confirmed another Ebola case in Lagos bringing the total number of Ebola Virus Disease victims to 10, even as 177 primary and secondary contacts of the index case have been placed under surveillance or isolation.

At a world media briefing in Abuja Monday, the Minister of Health Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu said of these 10 cases, 2 have died (the Liberian American and the Nigerian nurse) while 8 are alive and currently on treatment.
This is the situation 22 days since the dreaded EVD first landed in Nigeria.

At the sub regional level, the Ebola Virus Disease was discussed as a substantive agenda during the Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government in Accra Ghana.
Chukwu said Nigeria, as usual, played its leading, pioneering and compassionate role during the Summit with the first and only donation of USD3.5 million humanitarian and capacity building aid to the three affected countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the West African Health Organization (WAHO), and the ECOWAS Ebola Fund.

Key Facts on the Ebola virus disease

Key facts

• Ebola virus disease, formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans.
• EVD outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 90 per cent.
• EVD outbreaks occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests.
• The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.
• Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus.
• Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care. No licensed specific treatment or vaccine is available for use in people or animals.

Ebola first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, in Nzara, Sudan, and in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter was in a village situated near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name.

Genus Ebolavirus is one of three members of the Filoviridae family (filovirus), along with genus Marburgvirus and genus Cuevavirus. Genus Ebolavirus comprises five distinct species:

Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV)
Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV)
Reston ebolavirus (RESTV)
Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV)
Taï Forest ebolavirus (TAFV).

BDBV, EBOV, and SUDV have been associated with large EVD outbreaks in Africa, whereas RESTV and TAFV have not. The RESTV species, found in Philippines and the People’s Republic of China, can infect humans, but no illness or death in humans from this species has been reported to date.

Transmission

Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. In Africa, infection has been documented through the handling of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest.

Ebola then spreads in the community through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids. Burial ceremonies in which mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased person can also play a role in the transmission of Ebola. Men who have recovered from the disease can still transmit the virus through their semen for up to seven weeks after recovery from illness.

Health-care workers have frequently been infected while treating patients with suspected or confirmed EVD. This has occurred through close contact with patients when infection control precautions are not strictly practiced.

Among workers in contact with monkeys or pigs infected with Reston ebolavirus, several infections have been documented in people who were clinically asymptomatic. Thus, RESTV appears less capable of causing disease in humans than other Ebola species.

However, the only available evidence available comes from healthy adult males. It would be premature to extrapolate the health effects of the virus to all population groups, such as immuno-compromised persons, persons with underlying medical conditions, pregnant women and children. More studies of RESTV are needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn about the pathogenicity and virulence of this virus in humans.

Signs and symptoms

EVD is a severe acute viral illness often characterized by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. Laboratory findings include low white blood cell and platelet counts and elevated liver enzymes.

People are infectious as long as their blood and secretions contain the virus. Ebola virus was isolated from semen 61 days after onset of illness in a man who was infected in a laboratory.

The incubation period, that is, the time interval from infection with the virus to onset of symptoms, is two to 21 days.

Diagnosis

Other diseases that should be ruled out before a diagnosis of EVD can be made include: malaria, typhoid fever, shigellosis, cholera, leptospirosis, plague, rickettsiosis, relapsing fever, meningitis, hepatitis and other viral haemorrhagic fevers.

Ebola virus infections can be diagnosed definitively in a laboratory through several types of tests:

• antibody-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
• antigen detection tests
• serum neutralization test
• reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay
• electron microscopy
• virus isolation by cell culture.

Samples from patients are an extreme biohazard risk; testing should be conducted under maximum biological containment conditions.

Vaccine and treatment

• No licensed vaccine for EVD is available. Several vaccines are being tested, but none are available for clinical use.
• Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care. Patients are frequently dehydrated and require oral rehydration with solutions containing electrolytes or intravenous fluids
• No specific treatment is available. New drug therapies are being evaluated.

Natural host of Ebola virus

In Africa, fruit bats, particularly species of the genera Hypsignathus monstrosus, Epomops franqueti and Myonycteris torquata, are considered possible natural hosts for Ebola virus. As a result, the geographic distribution of Ebolaviruses may overlap with the range of the fruit bats.

Ebola virus in animals

Although non-human primates have been a source of infection for humans, they are not thought to be the reservoir but rather an accidental host like human beings. Since 1994, Ebola outbreaks from the EBOV and TAFV species have been observed in chimpanzees and gorillas.

RESTV has caused severe EVD outbreaks in macaque monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) farmed in Philippines and detected in monkeys imported into the USA in 1989, 1990 and 1996, and in monkeys imported to Italy from Philippines in 1992.

Since 2008, RESTV viruses have been detected during several outbreaks of a deadly disease in pigs in People’s Republic of China and Philippines. Asymptomatic infection in pigs has been reported and experimental inoculations have shown that RESTV cannot cause disease in pigs.

Prevention and control

Controlling Reston ebolavirus in domestic animals

No animal vaccine against RESTV is available. Routine cleaning and disinfection of pig or monkey farms (with sodium hypochlorite or other detergents) should be effective in inactivating the virus.

If an outbreak is suspected, the premises should be quarantined immediately. Culling of infected animals, with close supervision of burial or incineration of carcasses, may be necessary to reduce the risk of animal-to-human transmission. Restricting or banning the movement of animals from infected farms to other areas can reduce the spread of the disease.

As RESTV outbreaks in pigs and monkeys have preceded human infections, the establishment of an active animal health surveillance system to detect new cases is essential in providing early warning for veterinary and human public health authorities.

Reducing the risk of Ebola infection in people

In the absence of effective treatment and a human vaccine, raising awareness of the risk factors for Ebola infection and the protective measures individuals can take is the only way to reduce human infection and death.

In Africa, during EVD outbreaks, educational public health messages for risk reduction should focus on several factors:

Reducing the risk of wildlife-to-human transmission from contact with infected fruit bats or monkeys/apes and the consumption of their raw meat. Animals should be handled with gloves and other appropriate protective clothing. Animal products (blood and meat) should be thoroughly cooked before consumption.
Reducing the risk of human-to-human transmission in the community arising from direct or close contact with infected patients, particularly with their bodily fluids. Close physical contact with Ebola patients should be avoided. Gloves and appropriate personal protective equipment should be worn when taking care of ill patients at home. Regular hand washing is required after visiting patients in hospital, as well as after taking care of patients at home.

Communities affected by Ebola should inform the population about the nature of the disease and about outbreak containment measures, including burial of the dead. People who have died from Ebola should be promptly and safely buried.

Pig farms in Africa can play a role in the amplification of infection because of the presence of fruit bats on these farms. Appropriate biosecurity measures should be in place to limit transmission. For RESTV, educational public health messages should focus on reducing the risk of pig-to-human transmission as a result of unsafe animal husbandry and slaughtering practices, and unsafe consumption of fresh blood, raw milk or animal tissue. Gloves and other appropriate protective clothing should be worn when handling sick animals or their tissues and when slaughtering animals. In regions where RESTV has been reported in pigs, all animal products (blood, meat and milk) should be thoroughly cooked before eating.

Controlling infection in health-care settings

Human-to-human transmission of the Ebola virus is primarily associated with direct or indirect contact with blood and body fluids. Transmission to health-care workers has been reported when appropriate infection control measures have not been observed.

It is not always possible to identify patients with EBV early because initial symptoms may be non-specific. For this reason, it is important that health-care workers apply standard precautions consistently with all patients – regardless of their diagnosis – in all work practices at all times. These include basic hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, the use of personal protective equipment (according to the risk of splashes or other contact with infected materials), safe injection practices and safe burial practices.

Health-care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola virus should apply, in addition to standard precautions, other infection control measures to avoid any exposure to the patient’s blood and body fluids and direct unprotected contact with the possibly contaminated environment. When in close contact (within one metre) of patients with EBV, health-care workers should wear face protection (a face shield or a medical mask and goggles), a clean, non-sterile long-sleeved gown, and gloves (sterile gloves for some procedures).

Laboratory workers are also at risk. Samples taken from suspected human and animal Ebola cases for diagnosis should be handled by trained staff and processed in suitably equipped laboratories.

WHO response

WHO provides expertise and documentation to support disease investigation and control.

Recommendations for infection control while providing care to patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola haemorrhagic fever are provided in: Interim infection control recommendations for care of patients with suspected or confirmed Filovirus (Ebola, Marburg) haemorrhagic fever, March 2008. This document is currently being updated.

WHO has created an aide–memoire on standard precautions in health care (currently being updated). Standard precautions are meant to reduce the risk of transmission of bloodborne and other pathogens. If universally applied, the precautions would help prevent most transmission through exposure to blood and body fluids.

Standard precautions are recommended in the care and treatment of all patients regardless of their perceived or confirmed infectious status. They include the basic level of infection control—hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment to avoid direct contact with blood and body fluids, prevention of needle stick and injuries from other sharp instruments, and a set of environmental controls. 

Fleeing Borno residents get Boko Haram threat letter

Survivors of Boko Haram attacks in southern Borno ethnic minority communities who fled to Northern Adamawa areas of Madagali, Michika and Lasa, have received letters threatening further attacks on them.

 Our correspondent gathered that over 10,000 people of the ethnic religious minority in Gwoza Local Government Area, Borno State have been displaced by the sect. Some are currently in Adamawa, others in Taraba while many fled to Cameroon for refuge.

The threat came after the militant group attacked Pulka in Gwoza LGA of Borno State on Sunday.

Executive Director of Stefanos Foundation, Mr. Mark Lipdo, told our correspondent on Monday that he has been receiving distressed calls from the residents, who appear helpless in the light of the inability of the military to come to their aid.

Lipdo said, “On Sunday, we received reports that Boko Haram has also sent threat letters to these areas where the victims where rerunning to. They asked all women and children to leave Gwoza town or be attacked. Reports say the militants arrived the town today with hijabs (Muslim veils) and food supplies to younger and average aged women.

“It’s not clear what their next action may be. Victims are now helpless as they have lost confidence in any government defence. Sources lamented that their people now adhere more to Boko Haram warnings than any government promises.”

He added, “We also got reports that soldiers in Pulka and around Kirawa may be overwhelmed by rates of attacks as some now entertain thoughts of withdrawing to Maiduguri. Minority religious people have simply taken to nearby hills for cover. Most have spent days without food or water.”

Boko Haram has occupied and attacked Gwoza for several months. The area, which was formerly called Sardona Province, was a German province that was handed over to the then Sokoto Caliphate.

New Photos of the Okoye Brothers at Their Sister Mary Okoye’s Wedding

Psquare Peter and Paul Okoye’s younger sister, Mary Okoye last Wednesday 6th August in Asaba, Delta State wedded her man, Nollywood actor

Emma Emordi. Here are more photos of her family members at the wedding. More when you continue.

 

PHOTOS: Davido Joins The Military To Fight Ebola In Cote D’Ivoire

Nigerian pop sensation Davido aka OBO has joined the war against the dreaded Ebola virus in Africa.

Arriving Abidjan in ivory coast, he posted a picture of himself standing with the united states military as seen above, and captioned it

Protected, o Ebola!

As you can see below

When attacked by his fans for his silly actions, read his reply below

Do you agree?

Win N1k airtime every week in the National Prep Challenge powered by gidimo

Diamond Bank Plc and Gidi Mobile Limited are giving away N1000 airtime every week to participants of the Diamond prep Challenge. The two organisations have joined forces to tackle the failure rates in all Senior School leaving examinations. 

The failure rate in these examinations in Nigeria has reached an alarming height ranging from 65-75%. Nigerians have been talking about this unfortunate reality and this has given birth to Diamond National prep Challenge powered by gidimo. The challenge seeks to help student reverse this trend. Continue...

The Diamond Bank National Challenge is powered bygidimo,proudly Nigerian and also Africa’s first mobile learning and personal growth platform. The challenge has been innovatively packaged to engage students preparing for the various examinations (WAEC, NECO, JAMB and GCE). Diamond National prep Challenge is a gamified learning project available via mobile app gidimo which has over 30,000 prep questions and other materials. This has been structured to enable learning in a fun way. The materials cover for WAEC, NECO,JAMB and GCE examinations.  The materials are carefully designed toaid student’s preparation for the various examinations and help improve on their performance.

National prep challenge is a social contributionto society therefore all users will access these materials free. The top 2,500 students with the highest number of points will be rewarded weekly with airtime vouchers when they score up to or more than 1000 gidimo points.gidimo can be accessed through any java enabled phone, Blackberry or any Android phone/tablet. The gidimoapp can be downloaded freeatwww.gidimo.comor from the various app stores (Blackberry app world, Google play store, Opera store and Nokia store). gidimo also has other prep materials for professional exam takers such as ICAN, CIBN,CITN

Link of the prep challenge launch: http://t.co/TnLbZ4JRGZ (Silverbird TV)
http://t.co/muZyfTGY8T  (Channels TV)

Woman has 4 babies in 9 months after triplets were conceived just weeks after the birth of her first child

29 year old British woman Sarah Ward gave birth to four children in a space of nine months after falling pregnant with triplets just weeks after she gave birth to her first child.

Her son Freddie was only nine months old when she and her partner Benn Smith, were shocked to discover they had triplets on the way. They later welcomed two boys - Stanley and Reggie and a girl, Daisy. Describing life since being the mother of four little children Sarah Ward said 'At times it feels more like running a nursery than a home but we feel blessed'. Continue...

‘I was stunned when I found out I was pregnant again so soon. When we learned it was triplets we went into shock.

‘At times it’s utter chaos but we just laugh and get stuck in. It takes two hours to prepare to leave the house but we don’t dwell on the hard work. I love babies so I feel like the luckiest mum in the world.’ - the mum of four said..

Miss Ward had tried to conceive for more than a year and was due to see a GP for tests when she became pregnant with Freddie. So after he was born in June last year, the couple did not use birth control.

"We wanted to have at least two children. Because it had taken so long with Freddie, we assumed it would take the same time again, if not longer.’ - Miss Ward said

In fact, Freddie was only eight weeks old when she learned she was expecting.

‘I started shaking. I had barely recovered from having Freddie. I was still wearing maternity clothing. I was wondering how on earth I was going to cope.’

A scan at 12 weeks revealed Miss Ward was expecting fraternal triplets.

‘The sonographer paused and asked if we knew how many babies we were having. Our mouths fell open because we thought she was telling us it was twins.

‘When she said triplets I nearly fell off the bed in shock. Neither of us could speak as she turned the screen to us and pointed out three little wriggling shapes. I just started crying when I realized they would be born before Freddie was one.’ she said